


How the Mighty (the mighty fall in love)

by Kimia



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Klance Week 2016, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Space Dad Shiro, bff hunk, rivals to friends to lovers, slighty salty pidge, the space gang do their best to get the ball rolling here, we'll see where this goes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-06
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-07-29 15:16:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7689646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimia/pseuds/Kimia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>KLance Week 2k16<br/>Red/Blue,<br/>Love/Hate,<br/>Hell/Heaven,<br/>Free Day,<br/>Ice/Fire,<br/>Hero/Villain,<br/>Flowers/Stars</p><p>A story of a pair of <em>idiots</em> in seven parts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Blue and Red

**Author's Note:**

> Excuse me for being late, but I had to fight past writers block and anxiety. I hope you all enjoy the fic.

After another training session gone wrong, _again_ , Allura assigned all of the paladins various duties throughout the castle.  Though, mostly it was an effort to get Lance and Keith out of the same room and out of each other's faces.  She assigned Pidge and Hunk to help Coran with some technical problems on the bridge, Shiro had a stack of the Altean version of books to read through (a thinly veiled effort to help the Black Paladin unwind from the tension of having to pull Keith and Lance apart again), Keith was assigned cleaning duty in training room with explicit orders that he would not be allowed to use it again until it _sparkled_.

 

And Lance?

 

Lance was assigned the duty of cleaning grime off of the various Lions.  As one might expect, he did not take his orders graciously.

 

"Blah blah blah!  You missed the drone again!  Can't you shoot that thing straight?  BLAH BLAH BLAH." Echoed around the hanger of the Blue Lion, Lance shoving the cloth he was using back into a bucket of cleaning solution, "You know, Keith didn't have to point out that I missed _again_!  I know I missed the drone, he doesn't have to keep harping on about it."  He complained to his Lion, wiping away a slight coat of dust on its muzzle, "Its not like he can shoot straight!  He's awful at it, Blue, you know?  Coran gave him a training rifle once and the mullet almost shot his own foot off!"

 

Heaving a sigh, Lance glanced over the rest of his Lion.  Normally, he kept her sparkling clean by wiping her down after every mission and it showed.

 

"Alright, Blue, I gotta go now." He mummered to the robot, stroking his hand over the metal.  Having one of the best bonds with his Lion had some benefits, since Blue gently lowered her head down for him to disembark with his cleaning supplies.

 

Lance trudged towards the hanger doors, still grumbling but less venomously.  Venting to Blue helped in clearing emotions, he'd found, and it wasn't like the Lion was going to tell anyone what he told it.  So far, he'd cleaned the Yellow, Red, Black, and Blue Lions, who were all relatively clean.  All of the other three Lions had felt friendly towards him, extruding what he imagined the psychic equivalent of feeling a cat rubbing around one's legs. 

 

He had only one obstacle to completing his task, and he was not looking forward to it, that being cleaning the Red Lion.  He had never interacted with the Red Lion significantly before, but he could imagine wiping grime and dirt off of it would certainly count as interacting.  Lance reached the red hanger and gulped, worrying about how the Lion would receive him barging in and climbing all over it, especially since the robot's view of him could possibly be colored by how Keith viewed him and who knew what the mullet head thought of Lance?

 

Making up his mind to not be afraid, Lance quickly stepped into the hanger.  The Red Lion was in its berth, like all the other Lions had been, though Lance could almost imagine that the Lion's eyes were already following him.  He gulped, and crossed the hanger to stand before the giant robot.

  
"Erm.  Hi, there, uh Red, I'm suppose to um c-clean?"  Lance spoke, his ears flushing as he held up his bucket and cloth.  He'd spoken to the other Lions before climbing all over them cause otherwise it was just _rude_ , but it still didn't stop him from feeling awkward at talking to the others' Lions.  He found himself feeling especially awkward as he made his way up the berth stairs.  After all, he had just had another blow up at Red's pilot.

 

Major fights between Keith and him had been happening less and less often in the past few months, but they still occurred often enough that Pidge and Hunk had started leaving the room while Shiro sorted out the arguing pair, usually by giving them chores to do on opposite sides of the castleship, an effective method of dealing with the pair, but one that didn't address the issues behind their arguments.

 

Climbing gently onto Red's withers, Lance started towards the head of the giant robot.  Unlike the others, Red had soot on her face instead of grime.  Lance sighed, starting his cleaning.  What did one say to a giant robotic sentient Lion when its pilot was part of the reason that you were cleaning in the first place? 

 

"You know, Red, I don't actually dislike Keith that much." He spoke finally, concentrating on scrubbing grim out of a seam in the metal, "It just that he really didn't have to point that out like that and-  Why am I telling you this?  You'll just tell him everything I say, won't you?"  Lance snapped, sitting back.  He sighed, dragging a hand down his face and wrinkling his nose from the smell of grit and smoke.  Distinctly, he almost felt a psychic intent of amusement emanating from the Lion beneath him.

 

"Are you laughing at me?  What the hell, Red?"  Lance muttered, glowering now, "Not cool, not cool at all.  And why is that mullet can't keep you clean?  The other Lions were less dirty than you are!  There's more soot than metal in some places!"  Lance could feel the Lion's amusement slowly turn to gratitude as he scrubbed away.  Distracted by his work, he didn't notice the hanger doors open slightly to admit the source of his irritation.

 

Keith blinked, watching Lance muttering to the Red Lion.  Since the training deck was sparkling, he'd ditched and wondered off to find the other Paladin. 

 

"Uh, Lance?  Can I talk to you?"  He spoke finally.  Lance startled on top of the robot, jerking his head up to glower down at the other pilot.

 

"What?  I'm still working up here."  Lance huffed out, turning back to his work.  Keith shifted his weight from foot to foot, working up the courage to speak. 

 

"Well, it just that-  Look, I didn't mean to irritate you, okay?  I was trying to point out stuff but I didn't mean for you take it like that.  I mean, I, well, I didn't mean for you to get angry?  I thought I was being helpful?"  Keith muttered, kicking at the deck plating and refusing to look up.  Lance sat back, blinking.

 

"Seriously?"  He asked, peering down at Keith.

 

"Yes, seriously!" Keith snapped back, whipping his head with glower that faltered when he made eye contact, "It's-  That is- Look, you know that I don't hate you, right?  I thought, that well, I thought that we were friends and Shiro's always telling me that friends help each other and-"  He cut himself off and looked away, leaving Lance feeling a little stunned.

 

"Shit, Keith." Lance muttered, running both hands over his face and suppressing a surprising urge to scream into them, "That has got to be the most awkward, no let me finish" he cut off Keith's sound of protest, "Look, I don't hate you either.  Haven't for a while.  But, shooting things is my gig, okay?  I know I need to practice.  And, well, if you want to be friends, I guess I'm okay with that?"  He lifted his head to look at Keith and blinked at the slow, soft smile spreading across the other's face.  A smile that seemed to stab at Lance's heart.

 

"I could help?  With practicing?" Keith offered, fidgeting with his gloves.

 

"Yeah, sure."  Lance answered, blinking.  "Uh, I guess I'll see you when I'm finished cleaning?"  Keith nodded and left the hanger, leaving Lance still atop the Lion, feeling even more stunned, "Red.  I have a serious problem.  Why is your Paladin cute?"

 

A impression of extreme amusement was all the Lion returned.

  
"Shut up."


	2. Hate and Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> From one extreme to the other.

**Hate**

The first time that Lance saw his future rival, it was in his very first class at the garrison. Already the instructor, whom Lance never figured out the named of and always quietly thought should be named _Professor Dickface_ but actually called "Sir", had Keith at the front of the room, talking about how his scores on the entrance exam were some of the very best that he had seen, only topped by the scores of one Takashi Shirogane.  

 

What first got Lance's blood boiling was how _aloof_ the other boy was acting.  The other boy was looking off into the distance, arms crossed and slouching, like it wasn't a big deal that he'd blown everyone else's scores out of the water.  It certainly was a big deal to Lance, he'd spent months studying for that exam, only to be shown up by some mulleted dweeb who didn't seem to care about the top spot.  Lance fumed, his hands curling into fists and gritted his teeth, marking that as the day that a new goal was born.

 

It wasn't till a long time later and much _much_ farther away that Lance figured out that Keith didn't care about the top spot, that the other pilot had been worrying over a missing expedition crew and over the only person who'd been Keith's friend until then.  That Keith had also studied and practiced for the exam, that it wasn't just natural talent and luck that had gained him the #1 position.  Hindsight is 20/20 after all.

 

**Neutral**

 

It wasn't until months into their time as Paladins that Lance finally let go of his one-sided rivalry with Keith.  After all, they'd gone through some really weird stuff together during that time, like ending up living in an alien castle that was also a ship while leading a rebellion against a ten thousand year old universal empire.

 

Like he said, some _really_ weird stuff.

 

And truthfully, what was the point of the rivalry at this stage?  To goad each other into doing better?  All that seemed to was to interrupt the flow of forming Voltron, which was absolutely the most important ability of the team.  So, they called a truce.

 

Lance would attempt to remember that Keith wasn't intentionally being rude, that he was just socially inept on a scale that made angels weep.  Lance also attempted to let go of the urge to rise to the challenge and fling insults at Keith. 

 

In return, Keith would try to remember that he should watch the wording of his advice to prevent further misunderstandings.

 

To say that the sudden friendliness between the two slight unnerved the others was something of an understatement, though the two did feel some glee every time someone twitched, expecting a fight between the Red and Blue pilots.

 

**Love**

 

Like a lot of things, Lance didn't slowly wander into loving Keith.  Truthfully, it was more like a load of bricks being dropped on his head. 

 

That slow, soft smile.  The warming of Keith's eyes as he understood one of Lance's jokes, a miracle in and of itself.  The feeling of someone at his back during a fight.  The utter trust of providing cover fire in the most urgent of times. 

 

The slow thaw that had rapidly proceeded into a hot summer that seemed to have found a place in Lance's chest, dumbfounding him.

 

Lance slowly set his spoon of space goo down, blinking down at the table before glancing over at Keith, who was smiling at something Pidge had told him.  A smile that made Lance's heart race a little faster, made his fingers tingle and his palms sweat a little, and the tips of his ears turn a little red, sparking a little whimper to start up at the back of his mind.

 

He was so screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance is silly and maybe someday I'll feel comfortable enough to write Keith's POV.
> 
> Maybe.


	3. Hell to Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance, bad luck, and a druid.
> 
> Or:
> 
> Lance's very bad, no good day.

**Hell**

Hell went like this: Separated from the others, his Lion trashed until the sympathetic psychic pain knocked him out, and pulled from the cockpit like an oyster from its shell.  He regained consciousness in what could quite possibly be the worst way.

 

It felt like someone poking around inside his brain, burning and twisting its way deeper until suddenly he wasn't in a room but inside of a place that didn't follow the agreed upon rules of reality, as memories begun to surface around him.  Memories of his siblings and parents arose, happier days flashing before his eyes, twisting that feeling of homesickness to a roaring blaze, before the memories sifted to something else.

 

As Lance watched, he slowly faded from the memories, leaving his family behind and the memories continued to play, his family seemingly unaffected by his disappearance.  It felt like stab to the heart, logically he knew that this wasn't real, but it felt like a slap to the face to watch as his family carried on without him.

 

"Well, well." Spoke a rasping voice, seeming to echo from everywhere and nowhere, "Look how happy they are without you."  Lance twisted around, looking for the source of the voice.  It reminded him of those creepy druids speaking in their creepy voices.  "Look ahead, Paladin, are you too blind to even see me?"  The tone turned mocking as a figure slowly appeared before him, a druid with a twisted sneer upon what little of its face was revealed.  The figure waved an arm and one of the memories drifted closer.

 

It was of his little sisters and brother, playing on the beach.  Before he'd faded from the memory, he'd been helping them build a sandcastle.  Now they carried on without him in the memory.

 

"Look how little they need you.  Soon they won't even remember that you existed." the druid rasped, upping the ante on the sneer, "And no one will remind them of you.  You'll just be a face in a picture, placed upon an empty grave."  Lance swallowed, shaking his head. 

 

"No.  I don't know what the hell you think you're gonna get outta this, but I'm not gonna fold.  You can go and-" His rant was cut off, as the druid waved another image forward.  Lance bit back a whimper, watching his twin sister sweep dust from a gravestone bearing his name, "This isn't real.  You're trying to fuck with my head and I'm not going to just let you do whatever you want." He hissed, tearing his eyes away to glower at the druid, whose sneer turned into wicked grin.

 

"What I want is to break you, your mind, and your bond into a thousand little pieces, Paladin."  The being growled, stalking closer, "Once you're gone, we can find a new Paladin for the Blue Lion to bond with, one of our own soldiers, someone who'll _obey_."

 

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that not telling the hero your plan is number seven on the evil overlord's list of rules?"  Lance taunted, steeling his mind.  The druid seemed unaffected by the sass, instead devoting it's time to continuing its barrage of corrupted memories and images.  Lance winced, attempting to distract himself by starting to hum music.

 

"Perhaps breaking the bond will weaken your mind?"  Druid Witchy Bitch muttered, her eyes glowing under the cloak's hood, raising a hand in a gesture.  Lance winced, feeling like a railroad spike was being driven into his mind, a crackling noise flooding the space around him.  Distantly, Lance felt like a phantom limb was being shaken, another body being lifted from a place that wasn't _here,_ "Even if they manage to rescue your body, I still have your mind in the palm of my hand."  The druid taunted, smirking as it twisted the raised hand into a clawed gesture.

 

As Lance doubled over and fell to his knees, the crackling noise in that not space of imagination and memories shifted into a roar that sounded so familiar.  It didn't sound like a roar of an engine, or even that of one of the Lions, instead it sounded like the world trying to end, an endless rushing sound flooding in.  The druid snapped its attention to a space behind him, both hands coming up in a clawed gesture, its mouth opening in a shout of terror.

 

Lance dared to gather the strength to peek back over his should and _stared_.

 

His mind attempted to comprehend the form that was condensing from sea-foam and whirling waters, behind him a ways.  As he watched, glowing blue orbs appeared upon what passed for the figure's head, luminescent like algae, narrowing into shapes that his hind brain identified as ' _pissed off_ ' and ' _furious_ '.  Seaweed and kelp flowed around the form, as a mouth split open, populated by rows of broken shell pieces, all jagged. 

 

Lance jerked, feeling the welcoming presence of his lion as the figure flowed around him to stand between him and the druid. 

 

"Blue..?"  He weakly muttered, staring at what he surmised was the mental representation of the Blue Lion.  The figure nodded, giving off a distinctly pissed off feeling as it gathered water into an floating orb.  The druid was shouting, attempting to overpower the rushing sound that was still present, a sound that Lance now identified as the sound of a tsunami coming ashore, as Blue gave a mighty shove with a watery arm to the orb.  It felt like being driven into a wall, like a fist pounding the air out of his lungs as the not space was suddenly filled with water.

 

It was at this point that Lance learned certain things.  One was that druids can't swim.  Another was that much like falling in a dream, drowning in your own mind will wake you up.

 

**Heaven**

Heaven was falling out of one of the cryopods and into a pair of waiting arms.  Lance weakly looked up and into the worried eyes of one Red Paladin; who, quite frankly, looked as if he hadn't slept or rested or ate for several days.

 

"Lance?"  Keith asked, freeing a hand to poke the others face, "How do you feel?" 

 

"Tired.  Weak.  Sleepy.  Hungry.  In short, I'm shitty."  Lance answered, burrowing his face into Keith's shoulder and seriously considering taking the longest nap there, embarrassment be damned, "How long was I...?"  Lance trailed off, furrowing his eyebrows.  He was not going to tell the others about the frankly terrifying experience nor about Blue and what she did to druids that tread on her turf.

 

"You- You don't remember?" Keith asked, staring at him.  Lance shook his head, wondering what the cryopod had knocked loose this time, "You were a prisoner for almost three days, Lance.  When I found you, there was druid standing over you that pulled a disappearing act.  You didn't wake up the whole time I was getting you back here." Keith answered.  Lance swallowed and looked away, "You've been in cryo for four days now, Lance." 

 

Lance shuddered, reflecting that he'd lost a week in his own head.  Keith continued to support him, still standing before the cryopod. 

 

"I don't remember a lot." Lance started, "But I don't think we have to worry about that particular druid anymore."  He paused and let out a shudder, "Blue likes her druids extra crunchy."  Keith paled slowly, before letting out his own shudder and helping Lance sink down to the floor.

 

"That... is some information I could have gone my whole life without knowing." Keith muttered, "But I'm glad that Blue helped keep you safe.  And, I'm also glad that you're alright.  It's been too quiet around here." He finished, fidgeting with his gloves once more, slight color decorating his ears as Lance blinked at him.  Lance laughed, and flung his arms around the other boy, startling him. 

 

"Glad to be back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first anime was NGE.
> 
> You tell me there's psychic warmachines in a show and I'm sold.
> 
> AKA:
> 
> Blue likes her druids extra crunchy.


	4. Free Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith denies what he's feeling and Shiro has to use the clue-by-four.

Keith scowled, ducking the Gladiator bot's blade again, before taking a swing at the robot with his Bayard. Today was a day off for the Paladins, due to Lance waking up the day before. As far as Keith knew; Pidge was working on more tech, Hunk was helping Coran tinker with some part of the castle, he was reasonably sure that he'd seen Shiro and Allura talking on the command deck about flowers of all things, and Lance supposedly was in his room recovering. In short, Keith was the only Paladin that was _blatantly_ disregarding the term "day off".

 

Over the past week, Keith had been feeling... off.  It was hard to describe what he felt.  In a way, it reminded him of when he was little and lost his first tooth.  The feeling of something that had been there that was suddenly missing, but amplified with a sense of urgency.  Logically, he knew that the feeling had to do with Lance and his captivity by the Galra.

 

When Lance had become separated from the rest of the team, he'd spent the time haunting the command deck, glowering at everyone until Shiro had told him to go take a nap. 

 

Needless to say, Keith had not taken a nap, he did not take a nap for those three days, making the Red Paladin more cranky than usual.  Every time he tried to sleep during that time, Keith's mind had conjured up horrible scenarios that made him want to climb the walls with worry. 

 

When the castle had finally picked up on the Blue Lion's distress signal, they had quickly formed a plan to extract Lance from the Galra ship that he was imprisoned on.  Shiro and Hunk were to distract the ship by flying circles around it while taking out its external defenses.  Pidge and Keith were to infiltrate the ship together and rescue Lance.

 

The plan, like most plans, did not survive the encounter intact.  Shiro and Hunk were successful in distracting the ship, however Keith and Pidge had become separated soon after entering the vessel when a sliding door had closed between them. 

 

After talking over their comms, the two had decided to continue on into the ship separately in order to cover more area.  Keith was the one that managed to find the prisoner cells, which were heavily guarded; but not guarded enough that he didn't slice, dice, and make julienne fries out of them as he searched for his friend.  Having felt a tugging feeling from the link with Red, Keith quickly found the right cell.

 

Only to come face to creepy face with a druid.  Who he tried to shish kabob, but the creep pulled a cheshire cat and faded from sight.  Keith had gathered Lance up from the floor, where the other Paladin was laying in a pool of drying and dried blood.  The whole time that Keith had booked it back to his Lion, Lance did not stir.

 

In fact, Lance had not stirred until four days later when he nearly fell face first of the cryopod that they had placed him in.  Four days that had seen Keith pacing the room and taking cat naps leaning against the wall, until Shiro once more told him to get some rest.  Keith ignored that one too. 

 

Keith signed, dodging another swipe from the bot, not noticing the doors to the training deck opening and allowing Shiro to enter. 

 

"Gladiator stop."  And Keith almost fell on his face when his next swing met empty air, "Do I have your attention now?"  Shiro asked, tilting his head and adopting a slightly stressed smile.  Keith felt a shiver run down his spine.  That smile spelt trouble.  "Let's have a talk about this week, okay?  You seem to be having some problems."  Shiro continued, dropping the smile.

 

"I'm fine."  Keith answered, training his eyes on the wall and gritting his teeth.

 

"Nope.  No, you're not fine.  When was the last time you got more than an hour's sleep?  Something is eating at you, Keith."  Shiro stated, popping his head into Keith's view, "And I think I can guess what it is."  That statement was met with Keith snapping his eyes in another direction, the tips of his ears heating up, "Okay.  Now I _know_ what it is."  Keith thought that Shiro had no right to look as pleased as he did, smirking like the cat that got the canary.

 

"Shiro..."  Keith trailed off, his voice taking on a warning tone, which seemed to have no effect on his teammate.

 

"Keith, I've helped you for a long time now, years even.  Trust me when I say that if you tell him, you'll feel better."  Shiro stated, smiling gently, "Its alright, Keith."

 

Keith responded by hiding his face behind his hands and ignoring the rest of the conversation.  Like hell he was going to confess to having a crush on Lance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I get the feeling that Shiro is like an older brother figure to Keith.
> 
> Or:
> 
> Emotions are a good thing, Keith!


	5. Fire and Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Keith faces his fears and attempts to be brave.

Keith was a man with a Plan. Well. Sorta of a Plan. Like 15% of one. He was determined to talk to Lance, and finally confess that he really, really like-liked him. The main problem was getting into Lance's room without causing Lance, himself, or anyone else on this ship undue stress.

 

Hitch number one: The Plan was already causing Keith stress, making him jumpier than usual and slightly more snarky.

 

 _Think think think._ Keith thought, _There has to be a way to talk to Lance without it being really, really weird._ Keith continued his pacing, haunting the hallway that led to the Paladin's rooms.

 

"Uhhh, Keith?"  Hunk's voice rang out, a bewildered tone coloring it, "You okay there, man?  You look a little uh jumpy?"  Keith turned and blinked.  Step one of the Plan clicked into place, assuming that the tray of space goo that Hunk was carrying was for Lance. 

 

"It's nothing, Hunk." Keith responded, gathering his nerves, "Is that for Lance?"  He asked, motioning to the tray.  Hunk blinked and suddenly leaned forward to peer at Keith.  Whatever he seemed to find on Keith's confused face seemed to please him as he broke into a large grin.

 

"Yeah.  It is, since ya know he's suppose to be resting and all.  But I'm a little busy, so maybe you could take it to him for me?" Hunk asked slyly, a self-satisfied smirk growing on his face, "You could even spend some time with him.  He's probably pretty lonely in there."  Hunk topped this off by giving a knowing wink, shoving the tray into Keith's hands, and booking it back up the hallway.

 

"...Am I that obvious?"  Keith asked the thin air, blinking.  He was not expecting the call of "Yes, yes you are!" from down the hallway, Pidge's voice carrying their sarcasm far.  "That was a rhetorical question!"  He shouted back before turning on his heel and starting for Lance's door.  He paused before it, taking several deep breaths before jostling the tray to get a hand free and knocking, "Lance?  You awake in there?"

 

The sound of stumbling footsteps reached Keith's ears right before the door in front of him slid open.  Lance looked much like he had the day before, but his eyes seemed to have a red sheen to them and the bags under his eyes had grown.  Keith blinked rapidly, his mind distantly playing the sound of a train derailing as his Plan went down the drain.

 

"Lance?  Are you feeling okay?"  Keith asked, concerned for his friend.  Lance blinked rapidly, a slight blush and embarrassed look appearing on his face.

 

"Sure, just a little tired still." Lance answered, his voice pitching to the higher pitch it took when Lance was either lying or avoiding something, "Is that my lunch?"  He asked, reaching out for the tray.  Keith jerked it back before the tray could be taken.

 

"Lance, don't try to fake with me."  He snapped, pushing past Lance into the room, ignoring the indignant noise that he made.  Keith placed the tray on the room's desk and turned to give Lance a piercing look.  Lance dragged a hand over his face and gave the ceiling a look that could best be described as "Why me?"

 

"I'm fine.  It was just a bad dream, ya know sleeping off druid mojo and stuff."  Lance muttered, shifting his weight nervously, "Bad dreams are just dreams and that druid is dead and gone cause Blue _ate_ the creep in my headspace, man."  The mention of the druid's timely demise lead both boys to shudder.  The idea that the Lions could destroy any invaders in their minds was comforting in a twisted sort of way.  Keith noticed that Lance continued shivering even after the disturbing thought had passed.

 

"I still don't think you're okay."  Keith declared, reaching out to place a hand on Lance's shoulder.  His eyes widened as he found that the other boy's skin was shockingly cold.  "Uh.  Lance, why do you feel like an ice cube?"

 

"Its something that's been happening since this whole Paladin deal started.  I get upset and I turn into a popsicle.  Think it has something to do with Blue."  Lance answered, picking up his tray and retreating to sit on the edge of his bed, drawing a blanket up around his shoulders, "What about you?  Did you get any weird stuff going on?"  Keith followed, settling on the edge of the bed as well.

 

"I don't think so.  I don't feel hot very much and nothing has really changed, I don't think."  Keith answered, watching as Lance made a variety of faces at the space goo.  He felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards into a smile as he watched Lance's silly goo eating routine, which at one point even included Lance holding his nose in an attempt to stomach the disgusting substance.  Keith continued watching, his stomach feeling like butterflies were fluttering around in it.  Being next to Lance, in a companionable silence was nice.  He didn't notice as the air around him heating up.  Lance startled, turning to find the source of the warmth.  The motion made Keith jerk back, quickly removing his gaze.

 

"Dude, buddy!" Lance bubbled out, clasping a hand on Keith's arm, "How did you do that?  You're really warm now, like scalding hot."  A dangerously traitorous part of Keith's brain taunted him with the highly edited tracked of _"You're Hot."_ Keith did his best to control his blush, to no avail, "You okay there, Keith?"  Keith quickly nodded, wondering what Red was playing at.

 

Lance got cold when he was upset.  Keith apparently got hot when he was _happy?_   Why not when he was mad or feeling any other emotion at all?  As he pondered this development, Keith didn't notice Lance shift closer.  Warmth was warmth, and Lance had cold fingers that needed some heat.  And if he had to take advantage of Keith's personal space, well, the revelation that he had made before the week from hell was all right with that.

 

Feeling cold fingers slip onto his arm, Keith turned to look Lance in the eye.  It was now or never.

 

"Lance."  Keith started, waiting until Lance looked him in the eye before he continued, "I like you.  I really, really like you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I regret nothing and yet so much at the same time oh my god I need to go to sleep.


	6. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which flight is chosen and Shiro is Space Dad.

Lance stared, watching Keith's face flush a brilliant red that matched his Lion.

 

"Keith."  Lance started, watching as Keith looked everywhere but at him, "I'm gonna need some more info here.  When you say 'like' do you mean...?"  Lance trailed off, waiting for Keith to continue. 

 

"I just u-uh, that is-"  Keith's blush increased if that was possible, and he suddenly stood up, "I gotta go now bye see you later" He gushed out as he fled the room, leaving Lance staring after him.

 

"Did he just seriously confess and dash on me?"  Lance asked his empty room, allowing his tray of goo to slide from his lap, "Who does that?!"

 

Keith, meanwhile, was rushing down the hall, his eyes more than a little wild.  New Plan:  Find airlock, throw himself out of it in embarrassment.  Luckily for all of the Paladins, Shiro was waiting at the end of the hallway.

 

"Keith.  Stop.  Breathe."  He instructed, planting himself firmly in the younger boy's way, "Did it not go well?"  Shiro was worried about that, if Lance had reacted poorly it'd really mess with Keith.  Keith turned an even brighter red, locking his eyes firmly on the ceiling, "Did you... did you not even give him a chance to say anything, Keith?"  Keith winced and nodded, leading Shiro to make what the younger Paladin's had taken to calling the 'I am disappointed Dad Face'.

 

"Shiro, I just couldn't do it."  Keith managed to get out, "He asked me what I meant and I panicked."  Shiro sighed, watching his friend find the floor very interesting.

 

"It'll be okay, Keith."  Shiro assured him, "How about you go get some food?  You missed lunch taking Lance his, after all."  Keith nodded and disappeared down the hall towards the kitchen.  Shiro nodded to himself.  Time to meddle.  He walked up the hall and waited.  If his hunch was correct, Lance would come out any time now to go looking for Keith.  His hunch was proven correct when Lance came barreling out, struggling to finish putting his jacket on.  Lance came skidding to stop inches from colliding with Shiro.  He looked up, blushed, and gulped. 

 

"Erm, hi there, Shiro."  Lance huffed out, rubbing the back of his neck, "Uh, have you seen Keith anywhere by chance?  I need to talk to him."  Lance finally met Shiro's eyes and winced at the expression on the older Paladin's face, "You knew about this, didn't you?"  He asked.

 

"Yeah, I kind of told Keith to get it off his chest, Lance." Shiro responded, "And once I know how this is going to go down, I'll decide if I should tell you where he's at." 

 

"That's not fair!"  Lance snapped, "He ran off like I had the plague or something!  What the hell?!  He didn't even-" Lance trailed off, his blush increasing again.

 

"He didn't even?"  Shiro prompted, hoping that all the vibes he'd been picking up between these two were correct.

 

"He didn't even let me tell him that I-  I like him too, okay?"  Lance finished, covering his face with his hands.  Shiro nodded and grinned.

 

"It's gonna be okay, Lance.  I think that you should probably look for Keith near the kitchen, 'kay?"  Shiro responded, patting Lance on the shoulder, "Good luck."  Lance smiled up at him and rushed down the hall.  _Checkmate._ Shiro thought with a grin before starting to whistle and wandering off.  His job was done here.

 

Lance came to another skidding halt short of the kitchen door, straighten out his clothes and smoothing his hair down before he stepped to the door.  It swished open to reveal Keith poking at the goo machine.  Lance swallowed, squared his shoulders and strode quickly and quietly to stand behind him.

 

"Keith."  He spoke, watching the other boy freeze in place, "I- I like you too, you moron."  Lance waited, listening to Keith's breathing quicken, "I really do like you and I'm not talking about like as a friend, I mean I really wanna ki-"  Lance's rambling was cut off as Keith turned around and grabbed his shoulders, dropping the bowl that he'd been holding.  As it clattered to the floor, Lance was captured by Keith's gaze, both boys blushing heavily.  He watched as Keith swallowed, the action making his adam's apple bob up and down.

 

"Lance." Keith finally whispered, "I'm going to kiss you now."  Lance froze, his eyes widening before nodding. 

 

The kiss was sloppy, but at the same time it made their hearts pound.  Lance flung his arms around Keith's neck as they stepped closer to each other, their fronts touching warmly as Keith tilted his head to deepen the kiss, their noses bumping as the kiss deepened past innocent and gained some heat.  Forgetting their surroundings, the pair sank into making out, Lance pressing Keith back against the goo machine and losing track of time.

 

"Public space!  Public space, I don't need to see this!"  Pidge's voice finally rang out, causing the two to spring apart, "I'm gonna tell Shiro!"  The short Paladin spun on their heel, sprinting out of the kitchen.  Lance and Keith stared after them, before looking back at each other.

 

"I uh, that was nice?"  Keith voiced, blushing.  Lance grinned back him before grabbing his hand and dragging him from the kitchen.

 

"Let's get outta here before Pidge tells everyone."  As Lance spoke, he laced his fingers with Keith's and gave him a soft smile, "You wanna go somewhere were there won't be an unwanted audience?"  He suggested, still smiling.

 

"Okay."  Keith answered, bumping their shoulders together with his own smile spreading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Space Dad likes to meddle.
> 
> Or:
> 
> Best wingman of the year award goes to...


	7. Flowers under the Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the idiots aren't idiots anymore.
> 
> Well, not as big of idiots that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a time skip here of a couple of months from the last chapter.

Keith dozed, enjoying his nap in the sun and his warm pillow. The castle had landed on a planet for repairs, giving the Paladins some free time to spend doing whatever they wanted. Keith and Lance had elected to spend it together.

The most noticeable thing about this planet was that its atmosphere did not reflect light but at the same time was breathable. When Lance asked Pidge how that was possible, he had to escape the science lecture three hours later with a migraine.

Keith stirred, wrinkling his nose as something brushed it gently and fleetingly. His eyes started to flutter open as he heard soft giggles from above him. He was treated to the sight of his boyfriend smiling down at him, a starry sky spread out above Lance.

"What are you up to?" Keith croaked, his throat thick from sleep. As he cleared his throat, Lance beamed down at him, "Seriously, Lance."

"Nothing, nothing, just enjoying the view."  Came the answer, as Lance ran a hand along the top of Keith's hair.  Keith hummed at the sensation, his eyes fluttering closed again.  Lance continued his ministrations, sweeping his thumbs across Keith's cheekbones before leaning over and pressing a small kiss to the tip of the smaller boy's nose, causing Keith to wrinkle his nose and huff out an indignant sound.  A cascade of more giggles and snorts followed.

"Seriously, what has got you so happy today?"  Keith asked, opening his eyes fully and squinting up at his boyfriend.  Lance grinned down at him, before motioning off towards the landscape around them.

"It's beautiful here, no one is shooting at us, we're both here together.  Why wouldn't I be happy here with you?"  He asked, leaning down close to Keith, who blushed before stretching his arms up to loop them around Lance's neck, "And there's no one to interrupt us here either."  Lance finished, closing the distance between them.

Normally, when the two kissed, Lance had a _thing_ about running his hands through Keith's hair.  So when the midst of kissing like this, Lance didn't do that, Keith became suspicious.  Breaking away from the kiss, he removed one of his arms from where it gripped Lance's shoulder and felt his hair.  Lance went still as Keith felt objects in his hair.

"Lance.  Tell me you didn't."  Keith growled, his eyes narrowing.  Lance smiled weakly, letting out a nervous chuckle.

"Aw, c'mon.  You were sleeping so nicely and those flowers _are_ _everywhere_ , and red is your color, ya know?"  Attempting to soothe Keith's irritation, Lance leaned over again and pressed a kiss to the middle of his forehead, near the flower crown that adored the other boy's head.

"Last time you did this, I was picking petals and stems out of my hair for days."  Keith grumbled halfheartedly, not able to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching up into a smile, his arms looping around Lance's neck once more and drawing him back down.

***

Later on, curled up in a nest of pillow and blankets, Keith shifted closer to the other occupant of the bed, examining the wall opposite of Lance's bed.  It was covered in holograms that Lance had taken during their time as Paladins. 

There were several holograms of the group together, grinning as the hologram camera that Pidge had rigged up took the image.  Mixed in with those were landscapes, deserts and jungles displayed alongside beaches of various colors.  Occasionally, there were images of him and Lance, though more frequently the images were of just him, candid photos that Lance had taken when he wasn't looking.

But what caught his eye most of all was the newest image on the wall.  It was a hologram of himself, asleep with a crown of red flowers that looked like lilies in his hair, taken most likely on their latest date.  Keith sighed, placing his chin on Lance's shoulder.

"I should never trust you not to have that camera on you." He mumbled, turning his face to bury into Lance's neck.  He felt the laugh that Lance let loose, as the other boy rolled over to drape his arms around Keith.

"Mm.  Why shouldn't I take a picture, huh?"  Lance asked, his eyes opening blearily.  Keith pulled his head back to reveal his smile. 

"Your wall is awfully one sided."  He mummered back, leaning closer, "I think I should be the one with the camera next time."  Lance smiled at that, closing the distance for a kiss.

"How's this, next time we go on a date, you can choose what we do?"  Lance suggest, nuzzling against Keith's forehead.  Keith hummed at that before nodding.  Lance suddenly drew back, blinking softly.

"What?"  Keith asked, puzzled.  Lance chuckled softly, reaching up to remove something from Keith's hair.

"I'm going to be finding petals in my bed for ages now."  Lance answered, opening his hand to reveal a slightly smooshed red flower.  Keith rolled his eyes, sitting up to run his own hands through his hair, dislodging stray petals and flowers.  Lance laughed, gathering them up and placing them on the nightstand.

"I warned you that we'd be picking flowers out for ages."  Keith mumbled, concentrating on detangling his hair to pull the flowers loose.  Lance shrugged, sitting up as well to loop his arms around Keith and burying his face in the nape of his neck. 

"That's fine." He mumbled, Keith feeling the smile he pressed into his skin, "They'll remind me of you."

And if later, those flowers are found pressed and dried, tacked alongside holograms on the wall, neither one of them says anything about it other than smiling and pulling the other a little closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished a story. *glee*
> 
> Also come and obsess about voltron with me on tumblr at misskimia.tumblr.com


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